One of the things about the current debate over the ACA that drives me up a wall is the attitude that unless the government forces them to, there's no reason for the stereotypical "young and healthy" person to buy health insurance. That's BULLSHIT. Insurance is supposed to be something you have in case you need it, just like insuring your car even if it's been a long time since you've had an accident. Christopher Reeve was relatively "young and healthy" when he had his accident. So was Natasha Richardson. Scott Hamilton was an athlete in his prime when he developed testicular cancer. Sergei Grinkov was even younger when he laid down on the ice one day and died. Drunk drivers don't give a shit about "young and healthy", and neither do natural disasters. Sometimes being young and healthy can result in surviving -- barely -- something that would have killed a more frail person, meaning that the medical expenses go on for longer. A devastating accident or diagnosis could be waiting for a "young and healthy" person around any corner; hell, these days even a simple broken arm can put a pretty significant dent in the average budget, especially for someone young enough that they haven't built up a large financial reserve. Yes, compared to someone like me a "young and healthy" person is a lot less expensive for an insurance company to cover -- now. That doesn't mean they don't need to have coverage to protect themselves from the unexpected. That's why you pay for insurance.

Here endeth the rant.